JEWISH STUDIES Mechina Hebrew Hebrew 10300H-OL Rivka Markovitz, M.Ed.

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1 OFFICE OF ONLINE AND DISTANCE LEARNING 7605 Old York Road, Melrose Park, PA x x115 FAX SPRING 2014 ONLINE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Current Matriculated students must contact their advisor to register. Non-matriculated students may register by completing the Non-Matriculated Registration form which can be downloaded from the website. With exception of the six session Hebrew-Mechina class, all other classes run from January 14, 2014 to May 10, The drop/add deadline is Tuesday, January 28, JEWISH STUDIES Mechina Hebrew Hebrew 10300H-OL The non-credit Preparatory Program (Mechina) provides the student with the required reading and writing skills necessary for admission and successful transition into Hebrew-Level I. Through extensive practice, students will gain fluency in reading and writing Hebrew print and script. The course uses many sources and activities to enable learning in a fun and productive way. Students need to be available for the following 7 live webinars in December, 2013 and early January, 2014: 12/22, ( 2 sessions: 6-7pm, and 8-9pm), 12/23 (8-9pm), 12/26 (8-9pm), 12/29 (2 sessions: 6-7pm and 8-9pm), and 1/2/2014 (8-9pm). There are two one-hour sessions (separated by a break) on 12/22 and 12/29. Otherwise, all sessions are one hour in duration. Hebrew I: Beginners Hebrew 10301H-OL Hebrew I Online provides an interactive and fun introductory experience for students who have had some beginning exposure to basic decoding and writing in Hebrew. Students will meet twice a week for a live online session to learn and review the material. In addition, a special website will be available for students to log on at any time for learning and review. The course focuses on the development of all language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). Students will learn grammatical terms and principles such as pronouns, adjectives, gender and number agreement, prepositions, roots, numbers, special expressions, and the different categories (Gzarot) of Bynian Pa'al in the present and past tense. Students will read texts that reflect Hebrew and Jewish culture, including a weekly selection from the Siddur (prayer book). Topics will include: home and school, food, family life, and the daily schedule. Live webinar sessions take place on Sundays and Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm EST (This course provides 6 Undergraduate credits.) Hebrew II: Advanced Beginners Hebrew 10302H-OL Hebrew II Online continues the format of once-a-week live webinar sessions combined with follow-up reinforcement through a 24/7 website for individual learning and review. All language skills are mastered through more advanced syntactic and grammatical structures. Students will begin to read and write texts requiring critical thought. Hebrew texts that reflect Israeli culture and Jewish History will be read and discussed, with continuing exposure to liturgical Hebrew through a weekly selection from the Siddur (prayer book). Topics will include: seasons and clothes, traveling, health and the body, people and

2 places, and other daily activities. Live webinar session takes place on Sundays, 7:00-8:00pm EST. (This course provides 3 undergraduate credits.) Hebrew 1030H-OL or its equivalent is a pre-requisite for this course. Hebrew III: Conversational Hebrew-Part B Hebrew 20302B-OL This Hebrew conversational course will provide students with the ability to conduct every day conversations while traveling in Israel. Students will learn to converse in situations such as: asking for directions, reserving rooms at the hotel, ordering food at a restaurant, shopping, bargaining and much more. Through this course students will travel the land, learn about the different sites, the people of the land, and culture. Students will also read current events articles. We will use the Israeli newspaper, Yanshoof, a special newspaper geared for new immigrants. A website will provide students with the ability to log on at any time or place to review and improve your conversational skills. All vocabulary and conversations will be recorded and will be available via smart phone application. Students will meet once a week for a live webinar on Sundays, 5:00-6:00pm EST. Before Hitler: East European Jewish Civilization History OL This is an introduction to the unique civilization that Jews built in the lands of Eastern Europe, a civilization from which nearly all American and European Jews and half of all Israeli Jews are descended, and which the Nazis devoted particular fury to destroying. The course will begin with the first Jewish settlements in Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages and end with the revival of Jewish memory in contemporary Eastern Europe. We will examine traditional Jewish lifeways, Jewish-Gentile relations, the rise of Hasidism and the Jewish Enlightenment, and the development of modern Jewish societies, political movements and literatures. (This course was formerly known as Ashkenazi Roots. Not recommended for students who have taken History ) (Modern) Making Leviticus Relevant Rabbinics OL Ruth Sandberg, Ph.D. The biblical book of Leviticus deals primarily with rituals that involved the ancient Temple and its priesthood. After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the early Rabbis were faced with the challenge of interpreting Leviticus so that it remained a meaningful part of the Torah and a relevant Book to the Jewish world. Their new and creative approach to Leviticus emerges in the midrashic text known as Leviticus Rabbah. In order to understand the Rabbis' ingenious interpretations of Leviticus, and their relevance to the contemporary Jewish world, selections from Leviticus Rabbah will be studied in English translation. (Classical) Job and the Problem of Evil Bible OL Joseph Davis, Ph.D. This course explores the book of Job and Biblical views of human suffering. The clash between simple concepts of Divine retribution and the realities of life as seen in Job will be discussed, (Classical) Introduction to Classical Judaism Thought OL Joseph Davis, Ph.D. This course provides a graduate-level introduction to Classical Judaism, covering the Biblical, Rabbinic, and Medieval periods. After surveying the history and major texts of the Classical period, the course will concentrate on training students to analyze classical Jewish texts in depth, first examining traditional

3 Jewish legal texts (Halachah) and then texts of classical Jewish thought and values (Aggadah). (Classical) Comparative Theology of Judaism and Christianity Thought OL Ruth Sandberg, Ph.D. This course focuses on some of the major theological beliefs in both ancient Judaism and early Christianity. While the course will be based primarily on the Thirteen Principles of Faith of Maimonides as well as the Nicene Creed and basic dogmatic theology of early Christianity, a variety of later Jewish and Christian points of view will also be included. The primary concepts covered include: God the creator; the unity of God and the Trinity; idolatry and icons; prophecy and the Holy Spirit; Scripture and tradition; reward, punishment, and forgiveness; and the Messiah, the world to come, and resurrection. The Jewish Family: Institution in Transition Sociology OL Marsha Friedman, Ph.D. This seminar is designed to give a sociological overview of the contemporary Jewish family in the context of Jewish history and tradition. The traditional Jewish family, the "Non-traditional" Jewish family, the role of both single and dual career families, the impact of divorce, and devising a policy to support Jewish family life within the institutional structures of American Jewry will be considered. (Modern) HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES Anne Frank s Representation in Theater, Film and Beyond Literature OL Anna Scanlon, M.A. Anne Frank was an unassuming, intelligent and typical teenage Dutch girl coming of age at a horrific period in history. Posthumously, Anne would become an international symbol of the Holocaust, while her diary is one of the most widely read books in the world. In this course, we will examine the controversy surrounding Anne's diary and its publication, the road to Broadway and the subsequent hit film, Otto Frank's involvement in shaping his daughter's image, and plays and films that have been produced since Otto Frank's death. We will explore Anne as a cultural phenomenon, study the excerpts of the diary which were omitted, and discuss how memory of an event is manipulated and shaped by others. We will also address Anne's role in education and how she can best be used in the classroom. Comparative Genocide History 40557A-OL Polly Zavadivker, Ph.D. The focus of this course will be the history of genocide as it occurred in Ottoman Armenia, the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Darfur. We will also examine cases of ethnic cleansing as practiced in the Soviet Union. We will discuss the definition of the terms genocide and ethnic cleansing, as well as the long- and short-term historical contexts that enable both phenomena. Throughout the course, we will reflect on the question of the uniqueness of the Holocaust and the value of comparing it to other cases of genocide in history. Attention will be given to contemporary scholarship as well as eyewitness accounts and memoirs. Native American Genocides History OL Jeff Benvenuto, M.A. This course examines how the term genocide may be used to explain what used to be called the Indian problem in the United States and Canada. We will begin by examining recent scholarship validating the use of genocide in this context. We will then analyze the various approaches used to explain colonial genocide, both here and elsewhere around the world, including links between the American legacy of Manifest Destiny and Nazi imperialism. Next we will sample a few case studies, including

4 Columbus in the Caribbean, the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Trail of Tears, American expansion westward, cultural destruction in the 19th and 20th century Indian residential schools, and so-called ecocide in the tar sands of Alberta, Canada. Finally, we will reflect on the ways in which these historical and ongoing injustices are forgotten, remembered, and/or rectified. Before Hitler: East European Jewish Civilization History OL This is an introduction to the unique civilization that Jews built in the lands of Eastern Europe, a civilization from which nearly all American and European Jews and half of all Israeli Jews are descended, and which the Nazis devoted particular fury to destroying. The course will begin with the first Jewish settlements in Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages and end with the revival of Jewish memory in contemporary Eastern Europe. We will examine traditional Jewish lifeways, Jewish-Gentile relations, the rise of Hasidism and the Jewish Enlightenment, and the development of modern Jewish societies, political movements and literatures. (This course was formerly known as Ashkenazi Roots. Not recommended for students who have taken History ) (Modern) Holocaust and Memory History OL This seminar explores the ways in which the memory and meaning of the Holocaust have been approached in countries such as the United States, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Israel. Topics include the development of Holocaust education, memorials, politics, and literature. (Modern) JEWISH EDUCATION Supervision in Jewish Education Jewish Education OL Lonna Picker, M.A. This course offers principles and functions of developmental supervision and their applications to Jewish education, as well as approaches aimed at improving and evaluating instruction and learning. There will be ample opportunities for supervised practice. Action Research Jewish Education OL Shirah Hecht, Ph.D. In schools and related settings, a cycle of data collection and reflection drive process improvement, helping students and participants achieve teaching and learning goals. Action research is a data-andreflection method that allows education professionals and others to isolate and review changes in their school and work environments. This course provides instruction and training in the approach, rationale and techniques associated with action research. During this highly applied course, based on readings and exercises, students will design and begin to implement an action research study of their own, from identifying research questions to reporting their work. As a result of this course, students will see how the capability to conduct action research will help them reach the educational outcome goals that they value. Methods of Teaching Prayer: Skills, Concepts, and Affect Jewish Education OL/ OL Saul Wachs, Ph.D. This seminar establishes a methodological approach to the teaching of the Siddur and the Mahzor. Theological issues arising from these prayer books will be discussed. Affective approaches that complement cognitive and skill learning will be explored. Observation and micro-teaching are required.

5 Teaching Torah to Young Children Jewish Education OL/Bible OL Miriam Feinberg, Ph.D. Participants in this course will develop greater comfort and competence both with learning narratives from the Torah and transmitting them authentically to 3 to 6 year old children. A theoretical rationale as well as methodologies for presenting concepts of God, Mitzvot, Jewish holidays, values and Israel found in the narrative context will be integrated into the course. Criteria for selecting appropriate stories will be presented along with storytelling techniques and a range of creative experiences that bring the stories to life in the classroom. (This course may be taken for Bible or Jewish Education credit.) Philosophy and History of Jewish Education Jewish Education OL Saul Wachs, Ph.D. and Joseph Davis, Ph.D. This foundational seminar will explore significant educational theories that have affected Jewish education in their historical contexts. Students will examine the works of major theorists in education and Jewish education, and discuss the ways in which Jewish educators in the Diaspora and in Israel adopted, adapted and reacted against the educational currents of their time. The class will be team taught by a professor of Jewish thought and a professor of education. Introduction to the Curriculum of the Jewish School Jewish Education OL Joshua Gutoff, Ed.D. This course offers an overview of the principles of curriculum construction and evaluation as applied to the field of Jewish education. Conflicting conceptions of curriculum will be explored. Major curricula developed in recent years will be analyzed. Through readings and discussion, the students become familiar with some of the issues facing those who would design or evaluate curricula for Jewish education. JEWISH COMMUNAL SERVICE AND NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT Essentials of Jewish Non-profit Management JCS OL/Jewish Education OL Allan Glazerman, MBA This course explores the magnitude, scope and functions of the non-profit sector and its relationships with business and government. The topics include non-profit theory, principles of organization management, budgeting and resource management, advocacy governance and more. All aspects of non-profit management will be analyzed within the context of Jewish communal organizations. (This course may be taken for Jewish Nonprofit Management or Jewish Education.) The Jewish Family: Institution in Transition Sociology OL Marsha Friedman, Ph.D. This seminar is designed to give a sociological overview of the contemporary Jewish family in the context of Jewish history and tradition. The traditional Jewish family, the "Non-traditional" Jewish family, the role of both single and dual career families, the impact of divorce, and devising a policy to support Jewish family life within the institutional structures of American Jewry will be considered. (Modern)